What to Do When Twitter Snark Gets You Down

Social media has become such an integral part of the working world that many of us rely on it for information, connection, and networking. This puts us in a weird position, professionally, with regards to things like Twitter: if we pay too much attention to it, especially in its snarkier aspects, we can’t work. But on the other hand, if we ignore it completely … we can’t work.

You see the problem.

To this problem, Slate’s Matthew Yglesias offers one surefire solution: reframe your thinking, for Twitter snark is not the problem. Twitter snark is the solution.”

“Twitter has, for me, two wonderful attributes,” Yglesias writes. “One is that it’s full of fun and entertaining snark and nonsense. The other is that it’s absolutely essential to my job. Everyone knows that the modern online journalist needs a robust social media presence. So if I’m sitting at my desk joking and kibbitzing on Twitter then I’m “working” whereas joking and kibbitzing in real life doesn’t necessarily count.”

If that doesn’t help, of course, you can always observe Yglesias’s other suggestion: follow some new people. This is less flippant than it sounds. If you look at your Twitter feed and see entirely comedians, pundits, and people who are famous for being famous, well, you’re not exactly getting the best of what the Twittersphere has to offer.

In other words, as your mother would tell you, consider the source.

Tell Us What You Think

We want to hear from you! How do you cope with Twitter snark? Leave a comment or join the discussion on Twitter, using the hashtag #MakeItHappen.

Jen Hubley Luckwaldt

Jen Hubley Luckwaldt writes about work-life balance, stress management, and other topics relating to what makes us happy at work. A full-time freelancer, she deals with stress by blurring the lines between life and work to the point where the two spheres are barely separate. The happiest day of her career was when scientists proved that looking at pictures of cute animals makes us more productive.